Happy days ... Jonny Evans celebrates his goal in front of the Old Trafford faithful. Source: AFP

A 90th-minute goal by Javier Hernandez has given Manchester United a thrilling 4-3 victory at home to Newcastle United that puts Alex Ferguson's men seven points clear in the Barclays Premier League.

The league leaders had to come from behind three times to win, and second-place Manchester City's 1-0 loss at Sunderland meant the traditional Boxing Day fixtures left United with plenty of reasons to feel thankful.

Man United vs Newcastle

United were without Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young due to injury and illness, and they fell behind in the fourth minute when James Perch tapped in after David de Gea saved from Demba Ba.

Jonny Evans equalised in the 25th minute, sliding in after Tim Krul denied Hernandez, but the Northern Irishman undid his good work four minutes later when he inadvertently turned in Danny Simpson's cross for an own goal.

Premier League Ladder

P

W

D

L

GD

Pts

1

Chelsea

26

18

6

2

34

60

2

Man City

27

16

7

4

30

55

3

Arsenal

27

15

6

6

22

51

4

Man United

27

14

8

5

20

50

5

Liverpool

27

14

6

7

10

48

6

Southampton

27

14

4

9

18

46

7

Tottenham

26

13

5

8

5

44

8

Swansea

27

11

7

9

-3

40

9

West Ham

27

10

9

8

6

39

10

Stoke

27

11

6

10

-3

39

11

Newcastle

27

9

8

10

-10

35

12

Crystal Palace

27

7

9

11

-7

30

13

West Brom

27

7

9

11

-9

30

14

Everton

27

6

10

11

-6

28

15

Hull

27

6

8

13

-11

26

16

Sunderland

27

4

13

10

-16

25

17

QPR

26

6

4

16

-18

22

18

Burnley

27

4

10

13

-20

22

19

Aston Villa

27

5

7

15

-24

22

20

Leicester

26

4

6

16

-18

18

Round 27 - as at 00:00 AM, 02/03/15

The goal was given despite Papiss Cisse lingering in an offside position behind Evans, and United manager Ferguson harangued referee Mike Dean and his officials as the teams returned for the second half.

Patrice Evra drew the hosts level just before the hour, driving in from the edge of the area to claim his fourth goal of the campaign, only for Cisse to restore Newcastle's advantage by slamming home from close range.

Robin van Persie equalised in the 71st minute and after Sammy Ameobi had hit the post for Newcastle, Hernandez ghosted into the visitors's area to sweep home Michael Carrick's pass and secure a potentially crucial victory.

"December is always a big month," said Ferguson, whose side had been held 1-1 at Swansea City on Sunday.

"We dropped two points at Swansea but me made up for it today. It was a real championship performance.

"Once again they've proved their courage, they never gave in, we were down three times and came back three times and eventually they deserved to win the game.

"The third goal was a killer to us, I couldn't believe it, the third goal was a kick in the teeth. But they never gave in, that's the quality and they kept making chances. If you keep making them, you're bound to score some of them. And eventually we did."

Ferguson also revealed that Rooney would be out for "two to three weeks" with knee ligament damage.

"It was a volley towards the end of training. He did a ligament at the back of his knee and could be out for two to three weeks," said Ferguson.

Ferguson's worst-case scenario would see the England international miss Premier League games against West Bromwich Albion, Wigan Athletic and Liverpool and the FA Cup third round tie at West Ham United.

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